It's hardly worth investing in sought-after boutique and vintage pedals unless the investment is the whole point. If you're just a player who wants to enjoy their guitar rig, grab one of the affordable options on our list of the best overdrive pedals above. Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) What is a transparent overdrive pedal? Some of the pedals in this guide are clones of old classics, and others are newer designs utilizing modern technology. However, all of them are great options for anyone looking to add something special to their rig. We’ve even added some buying advice further down this article to help you find the best overdrive pedal for you and your needs. I bought a second-hand MXR Timmy overdrive pedal. It’s a mini-pedal, made in collaboration with Paul Cochrane, who used to hand-make the original Timmy pedals. Why Did You Buy It?

It’s a boost, it’s an overdrive, it’s a fuzz. The Chase Bliss Audio Brothers does it all – and exponentially more, thanks to the unique design of this slim stompbox. If you love experimenting with your gear to coax off-kilter sounds from your guitar, the Brothers offers a complex and interactive puzzle to solve. There are a lot of great overdrive pedals that feature circuits modeled after classic pedals and amps that can be had for a fraction of the price of the originals. Depending on what you're looking for, you can get the amazing sound of some really rare gear for a low price. The 3 Series Overdrive offers exactly this, featuring the build quality and great tone that JHS is known for, in a simple stripped-down chassis with basic controls that's super easy to use and sounds awesome. Generally, it's best to place the overdrive pedal before any time-based effects (such as delay or reverb) in your effects chain. This ensures that the overdrive pedal's sound is not altered by other effects.Whichever one you opt for, and however you’re using it, an overdrive pedal will give you a bit more of what you’ve already got, with some added grit and volume that can help you play with more feeling and expression. The best overdrive pedal for one person might be something that pushes their tube amp into a more natural overdrive and retains all the tonal characteristics of the guitar, however, someone with a solid-state amp might prefer something that adds a bit more ‘something’ to their existing sound. You can even get overdrive pedals that offer the breakup sound of some classic tube amps. Overdrive can be a great effect to always have on, or it can be used to boost a clean sound for solos, or it can be paired with other pedals – there are seemingly limitless ways they can be used. I spent a while with the tone controls at noon and the volumes matched trying to get them to sound the same. They're close, but the original is a little thinner and lets the original guitar sound through a bit better. The MXR seems to have a little extra low mids happening compared to the original. Bottom line, they sound very close, but still a bit different. I found myself liking the original more more than not, although on a couple of settings I liked the MXR better.

Some pedals, like the Keeley D&M, feature two or more channels, usually in the form of an overdrive and a boost channel like we see here. The overdrive is going to generally be higher-gain, while a clean boost will crank your signal without necessarily dirtying it up as much, ideal for an already distorted amp. The Santa Ana is a FET-based circuit, which means tons of dynamics and articulacy no matter how much gain you pump into it. It features a 4-band EQ for a wide tonal palette, separate gain and boost functions, and an A/B (American/British) switch that can be variously combined for a huge range of overdrive sounds.

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Finally a mini-format version of one of the greatest boost/overdrives ever created. Paul Cochrane developed something wonderful and all together different with the Tim/Timmy. It has two independent drives with independent controls, easily accessible via the front panel. The left-hand side sports a germanium diode-based drive, which is similar to some models of the OCD; a Tube Screamer-style drive and a treble boost, while the right side has a more complex two-stage drive, a hard-clipping distortion that's somewhat akin to a ProCo RAT, and the analog JFET boost. TweedTone: How Does The Wampler Tweed ’57 Pedal Compare To A Real Tweed Deluxe Amp? – HomeToneBlog.com on New Arrivals For August 2019